Love Hurts, Baby
by Psycgurl
Summary: Set right after "Nobody's Fault But Mine". Jackie and Hyde talk about their relationship and insecurities with Eric and Donna. Jackie/Hyde.


**Love Hurts, Baby**

****

**Author: Psycgurl **

**Chapter: 1/1 (Standalone)**

**Rating: PG-13 for some language**

**Couples: J/H**

**Spoilers: "Nobody's Fault But Mine"**

**Feedback: Hell yeah! Send it through here or at sikegurl@yahoo.co.uk**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the characters or actors of 'That '70s Show'. They belong to those nice little dudes at Carsey/Warner. I'm mainly writing this for others' and my enjoyment.**

**Summary: Post NFBM, Jackie and Hyde talk about their insecurities with some friends.**

_-------------------------------------------  
  
" I love you."  
" Yeah well, I don't love you."- "Nobody's Fault But Mine"  
  
------------------------------------------_  
  
Steven Hyde, an orphan who had never experienced "hallmark card sentiments", had for the first time in his life declared his love to Jackie Burkhardt, the rich Donny-Osmond loving brunette- only to be shot down.   
  
It had taken Hyde enough courage and will to make the journey from the Forman's basement across the driveway to the Pinciotti's house to plead forgiveness from Jackie again. Steven Hyde wasn't known for showing weakness or affection, but with Jackie it was a different case. Ever since they got together he had not only taken Jackie's feelings into account, but he had cared for her. There was something special about her. Something that made him want to do things for _her_, from attending dinner parties to shaving his beard to giving her his favorite shirt. He was even willing to do more for her, but then he fucked it all up with his insecurities and now he had to pay for it with his heart.   
  
Placing his head in his hands, Hyde knew that one stupid mistake had cost him the one girl he had loved and now he knew that there was no way she was going to forgive him or take him back.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Jackie walked out of Donna's room, determination clearly evident on her face. She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to forgive him, she wasn't going to love him…but by the time she had reached the stairwell her pace increased and the corner of her eyes began to water. Soon tears flooded from Jackie's eyes as she ran out of the Pinciotti's house, fearing that he would see her in this condition. Fearing that Hyde would see how much she actually loved him.   
  
She knew that she had blatantly lied to her former boyfriend's face. She _did_ love him, but the pain of his betrayal was still fresh. After her disastrous relationship with Michael Kelso, which ended up with her getting clobbered numerous times Jackie knew she couldn't go down that route again. Taking back a cheater was definitely not something she was going to do again and Jackie planned to stick with that vow, despite how much more Steven's infidelity hurt her or how much more she loved him.   
  
Jackie passed the Forman's kitchen to their basement, hoping to breakdown into the arms of her best friend. She just wanted to cry out all her problems…cry out all her love for Hyde.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Donna Pinciotti finally left the Forman residence via the kitchen door after an hour of hiding from a pissed off Red in the living room. Once her fiancé had given her the okay to exit the house she had ran for it. Not only because she had raised her voice at Red and was afraid that he was gonna kill her, but also because she knew that her best friend was up in her room recovering from a depressing break-up.   
  
To Donna's surprise, she entered her room to find Hyde lying on her bed and the faint sound of- country music?  
  
" Jackie?" Hyde asked as he sat up. " Oh, it's you."  
  
" I was-I'm just gonna leave." Hyde mumbled as he slipped his shades on quickly over his eyes.  
  
" Were you…were you _brooding_? To _country music_?" Donna exclaimed, holding back the laughter that was aching to erupt.   
  
" No. I was…whatever."  
  
" Did you talk to Jackie?" She asked as she sat down next to him on her bed.  
  
" Yeah."  
  
" What happened? Where is she?"   
  
" She bolted. Left when I told her that I-she left." Hyde ended.  
  
" What'd you say?"   
  
" Nothing. I'm just gonna leave, okay?" Hyde said as he got up.  
  
" Hyde, you can talk to me. I know what happened was a misunderstanding and Jackie does too. But this is- it's hard for her, y'know? Kelso cheated on her and now you…it's all too familiar to her."  
  
" But I would never do it again, Donna. I've tried telling her that. I'm not Kelso."  
  
" Well you two are starting to share some similarities." Donna scoffed. Hyde glared at her.  
  
" This has been a _good_ talk, Donna." Hyde replied sarcastically.  
  
" I'm sorry, Hyde. But, Jackie's my best friend and I'm on her side on this one. She's really hurt. She's been crying and…she's starting to diss my clothes again. She said this sweater was _cheap_!" Donna declared.  
  
" Well to be honest, Donna. She's right." Hyde said with a small smile, as Donna playfully punched him on the arm.   
  
" Now 'cos Jackie isn't here. Tell me everything that happened between you two a while ago." Donna asked, as Hyde sat back down next to her.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
" Donna? Steven and I just had another…" Jackie began as she descended the steps down to the Forman's basement, but all she encountered was an unusually empty basement.  
  
" Donna?" She repeated, searching the basement- until she reached the doorway to Hyde's bedroom. Tears sprung to her eyes again: Steven and her had a lot of memories in that room.   
  
How could she ever get over Hyde if everything, everyplace and _everyone_ she knew were connected to him?  
  
" Finally I can play with my Star Wars action figures!" Eric Forman cheered to himself as he came down into the basement and was astonished to see a mass of brown hair on his couch.  
  
" Jackie?" Eric called. He tapped the trembling girl on the shoulder, and she suddenly whipped around.   
  
" Eric!" Jackie exclaimed and then suddenly enveloped him in a hug.  
  
" Ummm, this is not uncomfortable." He groaned sarcastically, as Jackie sobbed into his T-shirt. Eric then patted her back reluctantly. " There, there Jackie."   
  
" Oh Eric, it was awful! Steven and I…we broke up." Jackie cried.  
  
" Yeah, I heard. I'm sorry Jackie." Eric said.  
  
" He cheated on me! With a _nurse_! Everyone knows they're the sluttiest ones!"   
  
" Alrighty…shoulder switching time." Eric declared as he moved Jackie's crying head onto his other shoulder.  
  
" You know, sometimes I just think I'm an ugo!" She whimpered into his shirt.  
  
" A what-o?"   
  
" Well okay, I _know_ I'm not an ugo. B-but there must be _something_ wrong with me that both my boyfriends have cheated on me!" Jackie bawled.  
  
" Jackie, you're _not_ ugly. And Hyde and Kelso both know that. They know you're hot. They're just- dumbasses. All us guys are." Eric consoled. " And Hyde, he's not the kind of guy to stay tied down to someone. Relationships are not his thing."  
  
" He told me he loved me." Jackie whispered, sniffling.  
  
" _What_?!?" Eric exclaimed and then grumbled. " He never returned my 'I love you man' days ago."   
  
Unaware to both Eric and Jackie, Michael Kelso- the foundation of the Jackie and Hyde break-up, just entered the basement clutching a handful of newspapers. Just when he was about to greet the two, Jackie spoke again.  
  
" Well we were in Donna's room and I told him to leave me alone. And then when he said that he loved me, I was j-just…I was so angry with him. I thought it was a ploy for him to get me back, so I told him I didn't love him Eric. But I do. I still love Steven and that's why this hurts so much, it hurts more than when Michael cheated on me. And I want to forgive Steven, but I don't think I can."   
  
Kelso stood listening intently to his ex-girlfriend's trauma and for once he wasn't overcome with an urge to console her by making out with her or by sex. He wanted to console her, but he knew that his usual methods of solace were highly inappropriate now and he knew what he was supposed to do. So Michael Kelso quickly ran out of the basement unnoticed as Jackie broke down in Eric's arms.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
" So wait, let me get this straight. You, Mr. I-Don't-Have-Feelings, told Jackie that you _loved_ her and she said w-what?" Donna exclaimed  
  
" That she doesn't love me." Hyde replied dejectedly.  
  
" Hyde, I talked to Jackie and…" Donna began to explain, but was interrupted by the noise of someone running outside in her hall. The thudding sounds of feet were then interrupted by a big thud followed by an 'oomph' and then there was more running until Kelso finally burst through Donna's door, clutching his knee in pain.  
  
" Owww! Donna, some idiot added an extra stair to your steps!" Kelso yelped.  
  
" What are you doing here, Kelso?" Donna asked laughing.  
  
" Jackie's not here." Hyde declared, outwardly answering Donna's question. " Donna, it's been real but I'm going to go."  
  
" Oh yeah-ummm…Jackie loves you!" Kelso suddenly blurted, remembering his reason for being there.  
  
" What?" Hyde said as he looked back at Kelso. Kelso dropped the newspapers bunched up in his hand on Donna's bed and glanced at Hyde.  
  
" Jackie still loves you, Hyde. You've got to talk to her."   
  
" Is this another one of your 'getting-back-Jackie' plans, Kelso? Because if it is, I'm really tryin' hard to not pound my fist in your face!" Hyde threatened as he stepped a foot nearer to Kelso who backed up and grabbed a fluffy flower cushion as a shield.  
  
" It's not. I swear. I was just over at the basement and when I went in Jackie was crying and talking to Eric. And I obviously eavesdropped…I know that Jackie loves you more than she loves me now Hyde and you should go over there and make up with her." Kelso replied sincerely.   
  
" Kelso, even if you're telling me the truth- I've tried okay and it's not going to work. I screwed up and Jackie's not going to take me back."  
  
" Well try _harder_."  
  
" What's it to you, Kelso? You've wanted Jackie and me to break up since day one. What's with the sudden change of heart?"  
  
" Hyde, we've been best buds forever man- and I know that you've always been there for me, especially when I had problems with Jackie."  
  
" I always tried to make you two break up." Hyde interrupted. Kelso rolled his eyes and spoke in exasperation.  
  
" That's besides the point. I know that I don't want Jackie to get between the two of us. And-and I want you to be happy, man. Even if that means I have to give up Jackie."  
  
" But you don't _have_ Jackie to give up." Hyde commented with a smirk.  
  
" I'm trying to make a nice gesture here! Take it or leave it." Kelso shouted. The two best friends stared at each other for an intense moment.  
  
" Y'know what Kelso…thanks man." Hyde finally said, as he slapped Kelso on the shoulder before leaving Donna's room. Kelso glanced at the door with a proud smile on his face.  
  
" See Big D, I can be a nice guy."  
  
" Oh my God, is that a picture of Fez _kissing_ you?" Donna laughed as she flicked through the many newspaper covers splayed on the bed next to her. Kelso attention then quickly turned to her.  
  
" Give me that!" He shrieked and the two began to fight for the newspaper cover, with Donna in the end rolling with laughter on her bed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Hyde took many intakes of breath as he stood outside the basement door. The last conversations that he had with Jackie had not been pleasant and he wasn't sure that this one was going to be 'all fine and dandy' either. Taking one final deep breath, he pushed the basement door open to see Jackie clenched in Eric's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Eric Forman, being a man of lightweight, was clearly uncomfortable and awkwardly attempted to loosen Jackie's grip.  
  
" Nothing's going right for me, Eric. First my parents, then Steven and now I'm sitting in this filthy basement crying on your shabby T-shirt!" Jackie whined. Eric rolled his eyes and then caught sight of the scruffy guy standing nearby. Eric smiled up at him and mouthed a 'thank god'. Hyde sat down on the couch behind Jackie, who was oblivious to his presence. Eric finally unwound himself from Jackie's embrace and quickly transferred her into Hyde's arms.   
  
" Guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow Luke." Eric mumbled and picked up his little action figure from the table. He then turned back to Hyde and shot him a gentle smile before running up the stairs.  
  
Hyde held Jackie nervously as she wept- knowing full well that he was the cause of her anguish. He was unsure whether to speak, fearing that he would say the wrong thing as per usual.   
  
" Eric, you know you smell just like…" Jackie trailed off as she saw whose arms she was crying in. Her eyes widened and then she suddenly began to scramble out of Hyde's hold.  
  
" Jackie, we have to talk this out." Hyde said softly, as he held his grip on Jackie's waist.  
  
" Let go of me!" She cried.  
  
" Please just listen to me, Jackie. Give me a chance to talk." Hyde persisted.  
  
" I have Steven. I've given you chances and I think I know everything I need to know. You slept with another woman and frankly, I don't want to know the details okay?" Jackie tore away from him and got up to leave. Hyde caught her by her wrist.  
  
" Jackie, I get that you're hurt alright. And I can't say sorry enough for what I did, but can't we just talk about all of this. I want to know how I can make this better. I want to know how I can make you forgive me."   
  
" S-Steven…this is so hard." Jackie stifled, as Hyde pulled her back down to sit next to him. " I don't think I can ever trust you again."   
  
" And I don't deserve your trust…b-but you're the first girl I've cared about, Jackie. The first person I've loved. T-this can't be over, because of a stupid fucked up mistake that I made. When I saw you with Kelso and I…"  
  
" I told you that _nothing_ happened with him." Jackie declared.  
  
" I know. But, I asked you to not to be alone with him and then when I walked into Donna's den and saw you in a very c-comfortable position with him- it was very hard for me to believe that nothing was going on."  
  
" And so you decided to screw a nurse then…for _revenge_?"  
  
" Jackie…"  
  
" Steven, nothing you can say can make this situation better. Nothing you can say can make this _not_ hurt, okay?"  
  
" Then what am I supposed to do Jackie, huh? Am I just supposed to sit here and pretend that nothing ever happened between us?" Hyde exclaimed, standing up. Jackie sat in silence not knowing what to say. Hyde sighed and sat back down, taking Jackie's hands into his.  
  
" Look Jackie, I _can't_ do that. Y'know Kelso told me to try as hard as I can to get you back- because you make me happy. And he's right. You make me happy and I don't want to lose you. You're the last person I want to leave me like the others in my life have, because you make me so _incredibly_ happy." A small smile crept on Jackie's face.  
  
" Did _Michael_ really tell you that?"  
  
" Yeah and he told me you loved me more than him." Hyde replied with a smile.   
  
" I _do_…I have for a long time. I-I just wish you believed that earlier." Jackie mumbled sadly.   
  
" I wish I had too. I really do Jackie."  
  
" Steven, you cheating on me is going to be really hard to get over." Jackie started, caressing his hand. " But…I will get over it one day. All of this has taught me that I'm stronger than I was when Michael cheated on me. I've been stronger ever since I started dating you, because-because you're really good for me. Donna thinks so too." Hyde looked into her eyes, wondering whether he was going to get the chance he yearned for.  
  
" And the day that I do get over this…I hope you'll be there waiting for me. And you would've gotten over your insecurities." She stated, as fresh tears trickled down from her eyes. Hyde took his free hand and wiped the tears away.  
  
" I promise I will. I'll be right here, baby. I'm not going to go anywhere."  
  
" Then I guess we'll just have to wait."  
  
~*~*~*~

Fin


End file.
